Newbie looking for advice

Ok I will try and answer your questions first in most cases the company you go to will want you to have a cdl from the state you say you live in.
but they most of the time will let you take time off any place you would like just let the dispatch know where and when you want off.

yes Florida is a hi inbound and low outbound fright state as with all trucking companies you need to look at the area they run in the most some say they are 48 state company but most of their loads are from one area like California to the east coast yea the cross a lot of states in route but almost never deliver in them making home time some time hard to get...

1st look at what type of fright is in your stats in Florida you have produce and livestock, food tanker, flatbed and so on . so make up your mind what you want to hall
2nd look around in the state and see who has a terminal if they spent money to build a office/shop the probably run in and out regularly.

As for prime I cant say much I know drivers that did that lease parches plan and did fine and others that lost their ###'s. as you are a new driver I would say SAY AWAY FROM BUYING A TRUCK RIGHT NOW fuel as hi as 4 dollars and going up don’t get in to it...

as for the driver training most medium to larger companies have training school's they will send you to at no charge to you but you have to sine a contract to stay with them for some amount of time after or they will back charge you for the school...look up free truck driver training on the net. or stop by a truck stop close to you and pick up some of the free driver recruting books they are all over the place start calling and ask the recruter if the have a school for new drivers
hope that helps..
Scott Dodd

 

yes, you can use another address for all paperwork at the job(i wouldnt make it known that you're doing that). my friend lives in Washington state, not a lot of trucking companies out there. and uses his brothers Indiana address, works out fine for him.

 

Swift has a terminal in Ocala, FL but as already mentioned I have heard from other Swift drivers it is hard to get loads out of FL but not impossible. If you have a truck stop close by talk to some of the drivers from the different companies get their feed back then make your dicission.

 

you may want to look in the post's under good and bad company it may give you some help but as with any thing on the net take it with a grain of salt. some drivers will tell you only part of the story about how some place jacked them around omitting the part that cast any fault on them or things they may have did leading up to it.

 

Swift terminal out of Ocala is right on 75 ... easy access on and off
Swift, JB Hunt, Schneider, Werner, and countless others do ovver OJT training, but for a price.

as for training with a company ... I would give the following advice...

Find a truck driving school that is independant from companies. This way you get the training you want but without any strings attached. Swift promises free training, but you have to stay with them at least 1 year. if you get terminated / fired in that time you ahve to pay it all back.

Once you get your CDL then shop around for what suit your needs the best. Look at the miles you can get, the vehicles, onroad service for breakdown, and medical benefits. Look at all these features and go with the one you think is best. But be careful and dont just jump into the first good offer you get. Make sure any promises from recruiters is in writing before you sign the dotted line.